The funeral home industry might see new regulations after at least 115 improperly stored bodies were discovered in a building in Penrose last week.

Six days after a horrific smell led to the discovery of the bodies at the Return to Nature Funeral Home, numerous officials were working on the investigation around the building Monday, including the FBI, Fremont County Office of Emergency Management and the Fremont County Coroner. A new barbed-wire fence, lined with dark-colored opaque plastic, was also going up around the site as military personnel and ambulance crews assisted at the scene, a Gazette reporter observed. The officials did not provide an official update on Monday. 

Return to Nature Funeral Home: Details about the ‘green’ burials business

Before the raid, the Colorado Springs-based Return to Nature advertised natural burials, without embalming and cremation services.

As work to identify remains gets underway, the horrific discovery has already prompted discussion about new regulation, said Joe Walsh, president of the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, who said he has already received calls from legislators.

“I do foresee regulations and changes in the future,” he said.

While interest in some reforms was simmering before, it’s a “roiling boil” now, he said.

He did not want to speculate on what reforms could be coming.

But there is a clear difference in regulation between Colorado and the rest of the nation when it comes to industry rules.

“Every state except the state of Colorado does require some minimal level of education and training in order to be licensed,” said Jessica Koth, spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association.

Many states require education between an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree to hold a license and it can help prepare future directors for dealing with grieving families and also the technical portion of embalming, she said. Sometimes, funeral directors and embalmers can go through separate processes, she said.

Texas requires those interested in the field to submit an FBI background check, pass the Texas Mortuary Law exam and then work under supervision before receiving a license, according to the state website.

Colorado has mortuary science programs that those interested in the field can complete voluntarily, Koth said.

Return to Nature Funeral Home owner Jon Hallford came to Colorado with some experience in funeral services, before opening his green mortuary business in Colorado Springs during 2017. The Oklahoma Funeral Board shows he held an apprentice license that expired in 2004.

Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose faced financial, legal issues prior to raid, discovery of bodies

He also brought a complicated legal history with him, including a handful of civil cases resulting in Hallford having to pay nearly $20,000 in total to various entities.

In 2006, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge while running for a local city council position after an incident that he described to The Tulsa World as a prank gone wrong.

The paper reported that Hallford and two others staged a fake robbery on a group of young women at a slumber party in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, entering the home wearing masks and holding unloaded firearms.

Hallford and his wife, Carie, do not yet face additional legal problems from the discovery from bodies in their business. Last week officials said they were cooperating with the investigation and no arrests were announced in the case Monday.

It is the second high-profile funeral home case Colorado has seen in recent years.

In January, the former owner of Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, Megan Hess was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Hess pleaded guilty to stealing the bodies or body parts of hundreds of people and selling them to body broker services from 2010 to 2018, according to a statement from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

Last year, Colorado tightened up its oversight on funeral homes, allowing state regulators to inspect facilities after they receive complaints or if they suspect a violation of state law.

Walsh expects to work with legislators in the coming months to craft further legislation that can work with an industry that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered numerous people to leave.

Walsh advised nervous consumers to work with businesses who are members of the state association who agree to uphold the high standards and ethics of the industry.

Those having a family member cremated can also ask to be present at the beginning of the service to feel confident it is taking place, he said, although such a request may require an additional fee.

What’s a ‘green’ burial? ‘Horrific’ discovery at Colorado funeral home spurs questions about growing practice

Those who worked with Return to Nature and have questions about their own loved ones are expected to wait months for answers as officials use DNA analysis, dental records and forensic fingerprint technology to identify the dead, officials said last week.

Officials are encouraging Return to Nature clients to fill out a questionnaire about their experiences, how much they spent with the company, whether they have documents from the company, among other details.

The questionnaire can be found at https://forms.fbi.gov/penrose-funeral-home.

Gazette reporters O’Dell Isaac and Zachary Dupont contributed to this report.